Garbage collection snowed in? City might give you a rebate

Representatives from Seattle Public Utilities just finished their presentation to Seattle City Council, which is holding the second of several planned special meetings to review the city’s response to December’s snow storms.

One of their points should be of interest to anyone whose trash and recycling bins were not picked up during the storms.

According to garbage director Tim Croll, Seattle Public Utilities has been directed by Mayor Greg Nickels to begin work on a possible rebate program. Any SPU customer whose bins were not collected for two weeks or more would be eligible.

Croll did not give many more details on this proposed program, other than to assure that in his current thinking, customers would not need to call and complain to earn the rebate. SPU staff would do “their best” to ascertain what areas were missed.

SPU expected to be caught up with all storm-delayed trash and recycling pickup Monday at 6 p.m. Areas were missed throughout the city. Two people — one in Ballard, another in northeast Seattle — contacted me Monday night to say that their recycling bins had still not been emptied.